Exported Mānuka Honey Authenticated on Blockchain

TrackBack collaborates with AsureQuality, NZ Post and
The True Honey Co. to verify provenance, prestige and
quality of New Zealand-made products

AUCKLAND, NEW
ZEALAND– 10 April 2019 – TrackBack has successfully
tracked genuine mānuka honey from its origin in New Zealand
to its destination in Shanghai, China using blockchain
technology. All events along the supply chain, as well as
evidence of the company’s testing protocol to verify grade
were recorded to the blockchain.

The successful proof
of application was the outcome of a collaboration between
TrackBack, AsureQuality and NZ Post using mānuka honey from
The True Honey Co.

TrackBack provides complete
traceability to ensure global confidence in product
authenticity, integrity and provenance. This means the
recipients in China were able to verify that the jars of
honey they received were the same jars that had been
packaged in New Zealand.

Increasing value creates
increased risk of counterfeiting

New Zealand has a strong
history of producing high quality exports, especially in the
food and ingredients markets. This very success makes
locally produced products an attractive target for low cost
imitations. These imitations have the potential to
undermine the premium assigned to New Zealand-made goods in
the global marketplace. The Grocery Manufacturers
Association in the United States estimates that the
counterfeiting of global food and consumer products costs
the industry US$10-15 billion per year[1].

Counterfeit
concerns are not confined to the food industry. According
to the Global Brand Counterfeiting Report 2018, the amount
of total counterfeiting globally reached US$1.2 Trillion in
2017 and is bound to reach 1.82 Trillion USD by the year
2020.[2]

Semanie Cato, TrackBack Head of Business
Development, says TrackBack enables any business to build a
traceability solution quickly and easily to safeguard the
value of its unique product offering, giving confidence to
customers and building trust with consumers.

“Building a trusted food framework in New Zealand will
allow the food industry to elevate its value proposition:
from commodity to items of desire. New Zealand needs to see
itself as a luxury brand within the food space
globally.”

Using blockchain, suppliers can
differentiate their premium products from cheaper imitations
and counterfeits to provide another layer of protection
against counterfeit, protect brand reputation and
differentiate New Zealand exports from the competition.

Connecting producers and consumers

“We’re
aiming to build that Sunday market connection between
producers and international consumers, by providing
blockchain services to authenticate supplier claims and make
any product’s journey visible.

“TrackBack gives
everyday consumers the ability to understand exactly what
they are purchasing, eating or wearing in a way that has
been largely lost in the internet age. We do this through
our place in Centrality’s ecosystem and blockchain
expertise.” says Semanie.

Building
trust

TrackBack’s core technology enables any company in
any industry, whether it be food, fashion or aviation to
build trust for its customers.

“Blockchain is the
ideal tool to bring transparency and accountability to the
supply-chain as it acts as a single immutable ledger that
all parties can see,” says Dene Green, NZ Post
International General Manager.

Consumers can exercise
their right and responsibility to know the ethical and
environmental impact of the goods they choose to consume.
The blockchain ledger records all transactions at every
point in the supply chain, offering a secure and transparent
ledger to provide transparency to all parties involved.

Following the success of this initial trial, TrackBack is
working towards a commercially available technology to
secure the authenticity, integrity and provenance of New
Zealand made premium products.

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